Second Chance
by Of Healing Love
Summary: Diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Katie Thurman decides to commit suicide. However, the 'afterlife' isn't quite what she expected; she finds herself in the Durarara! universe as Kamichika Rio, en-route to meet with Izaya, her least favorite character in her least favorite anime. It's not really as bad as hell, but it's not much better, either. SI/OC. Not a bashing fic.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey, everyone!_

 _This is just a little plot bunny I've been playing with lately. Updates for my other stories are coming soon, so don't be mad at me! I'm 1000 words into Entropy and even more so into WCBS. Be nice, 'kay?_

 _This is my first go at Durarara! fanfiction and I'm really enjoying it. It will be listed as complete unless/until people want it to be continued. It's written so that it could be continued, but it also could very well stand alone, I think. Personally, I don't think I have Izaya's character down quite yet, even though psychopaths are my favorite to write, but I'm not really worried. It lists Shizuo as a character, but this chapter/one-shot is mostly just Celty, Rio/OC, and Izaya. If this is continued, Shizuo will definitely be featured in future chapters, as well as the rest of the cast._

 _Also, should this be continued, it will very quickly become AU. For now, I wouldn't call it AU, so it's not listed like that in the summary. Please let me know if you want it continued, because I'm probably not going to keep writing it otherwise._

 _Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

 **Second Chance**

* * *

1

In Which Reincarnation is Actually a Thing

* * *

It was a normal day in my life—depression, suicidal ideation, the works—when I decided to commit suicide by jumping off the forty-five story building on the corner of 22nd and West Street. It had been a long time coming, I thought, after my diagnosis of terminal brain cancer when I was nineteen years old. I was going to die anyways, most likely at the tender age of twenty-two, and in the end, I decided that I wanted to go out on my own terms. Better to be the maker of my own death than be claimed by an illness that I had no control over. In my mind, this final act was me taking control of my life for the last time.

So I rode up the elevator in my formal black dress, complete with black high heels and my hair pulled back into an austere bun, and pretended not to notice the businessman who was staring at me a little suspiciously as he rode with me to his destination.

I thought about all the ways that my life had become a nightmare and how I would have done anything to change it. The diagnosis had been mind-shattering, and watching my parents cry at the thought that their only daughter was going to die before her twenty-fifth birthday—the statistics said that it would be a miracle if I made it to my twenty-third—had been the hardest thing I had ever endured. My parents' constant supportiveness had been helpful but also suffocating, and they had urged me to make the best of life. Since I wouldn't be finishing her Bachelor's degree in English, they decided to use the leftover tuition money to take me anywhere in the world that I wanted. At age twenty, I had completed everything on the bucket list I shouldn't have even been thinking about—including watching every anime I had ever dreamed of watching. The only one that remained unfinished was Durarara!, but that was okay because I really hated the antagonist of the series and hadn't wanted to sit through his psychopathic ramblings or cheap machinations any longer than I had to.

And now, at twenty-one, I was ready to go, ready to die. The only thing I would change was something that I would never have control over—the diagnosis. But that wasn't going to change, so I was going to make the best of it.

I exited on the forty-fifth floor, two floors after that annoying man who probably knew what I was about to do, and then took the stairs to the rooftop. I spent little time looking at my surroundings, instead walking over to the railing and staring down at the city below.

People scurried about downtown like ants in an anthill, going about their lives without a care in the world. How I wished that I could have that same carefree attitude, and for a moment, I hesitated. Should I be fighting this harder? Was it really the right choice to kill myself, when I probably had a few more months before the sickness really started to debilitate me?

Shaking my head, I climbed over the railing and stood on the ledge, taking a deep, final breath.

My suicide note had been left on my neatly-made bed. My will had already been made, signed, and notarized because my parents and I knew that death was coming. It was sad that my funeral would be closed-casket, I supposed, but I had made sure to show extra affection to my parents ever since I made the decision to commit suicide. I wanted them to remember me fondly, even if they would not approve of what I was doing.

Just as I prepared to step off the building, I made a final prayer to whatever higher power might be listening to a sick girl's last wish.

 _Please let my rest be peaceful._

I jumped.

And then, suddenly, a terrifying fear filled me.

 _No, I don't want to die!_

As the ground rushed up towards me—oh my god, oh my _god_ what have I done?—my last thoughts were—

 _I take it back! Give me another chance! I don't want to-_

And then it all went black.

The next thought that I had was that death wasn't quite what I expected, which was immediately followed by _why am I have thought? I'm_ dead. Death was actually rather uncomfortable. I could feel something sticky chafing my wrists and my back was arched in a rather uncomfortable position, and when I wriggled my feet, they too were stuck together.

Cigarette smoke clogged my senses, as well as the sweet, sickly scent of something chemical invading my nose and my mouth. I only saw black, but I realized it was my eyelids, which was strange because _I was supposed to be dead_. Just as I was about to open my eyes, someone spoke.

 _There were voices in the afterlife?_

"-Jouhou teikyou-sha," came a nasally voice, along with an exhale of pungent smoke straight into my face.

The fuck? I recognized Japanese when I heard it, but it wasn't like I could understa-

And then a rush of memories assaulted my brain, memories from a girl's life that I didn't know. Pictures like a botched-up movie reel on fast-forward flashed in my mind's eye.

 _A mysterious sender of pictures of her father with a younger woman, hugging and kissing and looking all-around very happy-_

 _-her father was not faithful to her mother, he was seeing someone else-_

 _-pictures of the woman and her father delivered through the mailbox-_

 _-her mother didn't care and acted like everything was just fine-_

 _-a man named Nakura, who was just like her, he said, "Let's disappear together"-_

 _-meeting this Nakura, who wasn't actually Nakura, the smell of chloroform-_

 _-being dragged into a van-_

And suddenly, I realized what this was. This was a weird sort of afterlife kind of thing. I felt quite alive, and part of me was relieved by this, because the moment I began to fall I realized that I didn't really _want_ to die, even if it was going to happen anyway with the cancer. I _knew_ that I had died. One didn't survive a jump from a forty-five story building; it just wasn't possible. The only conclusion was that I was in the next life.

But what was more wrong than this weird afterlife nonsense was the fact that this seemed a lot like Episode Two of Durarara!, my least favorite anime, and these seemed a lot like Kamichika Rio's memories. Which was…really, really not good.

I then wondered for a moment, _Am I Rio in this 'life'?_ Because the fact that I was tied up like this, in the back of a car, or more probably a van, with my last memory being kidnapped and shoved _into_ said van…it said a lot about my predicament, specifically the fact that I had Rio's memories, even ones that I hadn't seen in the anime.

Which begged the question, _what the fuck is going on?_

It occurred to me that I was thinking in Japanese, and even though I had never learned the language, soon whatever the men in the car were saying made perfect sense.

"She's worth more if she's alive, anyways," one of them was saying. A booted foot nudged me in the ribs and I knew that it was best if I pretended to be unconscious while presumably kidnapped. It was kind of cool to be able to understand Japanese, though. Very handy if I was in Japan—or rather, the Japan-afterlife. "You sure you didn't soak it too much?"

"Nah," came the nasally voice. There was the feather-light touch of a finger underneath my nose. I resisted the urge to bite it. "She's still breathin'." The scent of cigarette smoke was vile on his index finger and I then decided I really didn't want to put that in my mouth. I continued to fake my unconsciousness, trying to formulate a plot because I knew how this episode went and I really didn't want to play right into it.

The reply was a grunt, and then suddenly, there was a cry from the front seat and the van swerved dangerously. I had to do my best not to brace myself against the tumble I took across the backseat of the van, forcing my body to stay limp.

This was obviously the part where the Dullahan, otherwise known as Sturluson Celty, was going to come 'rescue' me and then take me to Izaya. Like hell was I going to let that happen.

I _hated_ Izaya. He was probably my least favorite character in all the anime I had ever watched in the history of forever. The reason I didn't finish Durarara! was because of one factor: Orihara Izaya. He was, in a simple word, annoying. Some would admire his machinations and the way he controlled Ikebukuro like a masterful puppeteer, and I acknowledged that Durarara! wouldn't actually have much of a plot without him, but by god if he wasn't the most annoying villain ever conceived.

As the two men in the backseat with me exited the car, I began to work furiously at the duct tape taping my hands together. I had never had anything against Celty in the anime—in fact, Celty was one of my favorite characters—but Celty was working for Izaya and while I was certain that the Dullahan would rather not force me to see him, it was also a job that she was being paid to do.

Frowning around the gag in my mouth, I finally loosened the traction of the duct tape, which chafed when I wiggled my hands but was totally worth it when I slipped my hands free. There was a sickening crunch outside the van and I forced myself not to imagine whose head that might be. It certainly wasn't Celty's…

Okay, bad joke. I probably shouldn't be thinking things like that, even if this was the strangest afterlife I'd ever experienced. Then again, it was the _only_ afterlife I'd ever experienced. That didn't make it any less strange.

With my hands free, I untied my gag and freed my feet before finally taking a deep breath of fresh air. There were more fighting sounds outside, and I wondered if I could slip away while my kidnappers and supposed-savior were occupied. Quickly but quietly, I opened the door to the van and surveyed the situation.

One man was unconscious, or possibly dead, with a smear of blood on the concrete wall behind where he was crumpled. Thankfully, his head was still intact. The supposed-Nakura was coming at Celty with a knife, and once he was incapacitated, I knew the driver would freak out and make a run for it. No one noticed the door to the van opening, so I slipped out of it and stole away from the scene.

The moment I made it twenty feet from the van, the tires squealed as it accelerated and it took off, the back doors flapping wildly. I hadn't closed them properly, afraid that the noise would alert the others to my escape, but I realized the problem with that right away when I realized that Celty would not follow with her target no longer in the van.

I froze as the Dullahan approached me.

Technically, I knew that Celty was harmless, but since I had escaped on my own and Celty hadn't actually freed me—or rather, Rio—in this already-mucked up timeline, I decided that it wouldn't be out of the question for a traumatized sixteen year old to run. I wasn't actually traumatized as I wasn't actually Rio, but I decided that I could play the part well enough if it was going to benefit me.

So, I bolted.

I made it half a block away from the parking garage before Celty headed me off on her motorcycle. Panting, I frowned and decided that I wasn't going to make it far when the Dullahan was determined to complete her job. If only I had closed the car doors just carefully enough to not alert anyone of my escape…

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" I demanded. A split second later, I realized that I wasn't acting all that frightened, or really much like canon-Rio at all. Canon-Rio was resigned to her fate, not at all worried about what would happen to her. She even actually _jumped_ after Izaya left, only to have her life saved by Celty.

Non-canon-Rio was not going to be like that, not if I had anything to say about it. The thought of jumping a second time, even in the afterlife, was not on my list of priorities.

Celty paused, then typed into her PDA, 'I've been asked to take you to a certain location.' She hesitated for a moment, then typed another message. 'I'm not going to hurt you.'

I frowned, but decided to speak a little more softly this time. I _liked_ Celty in the anime, and she definitely had a conscience. I wondered if it would be possible to reason with her. "I've had a really rough night," I said. "I was tricked and kidnapped. I'd really just like to go home."

My voice—Rio's voice—was foreign to my ears, but I decided it wasn't a terrible voice to have. I definitely needed to figure out what was going on once I got out of this mess.

'I understand,' Celty typed, and for a moment I thought she was going to let me go. 'But it's in your best interest if you listen to me. I'll take you home afterwards.'

I didn't really want to put Celty in a hard situation because Rio had been Izaya's prey for months—I was pretty certain that Izaya was the one who had sent her the damning photos of her father and his mistress in the first place—and Izaya would not take well to Rio, or rather me, I guess, changing her—my—mind like that. Not when I couldn't very well explain _why_ I changed my mind in the first place.

So, against my better instincts, I nodded and got on the back of Celty's motorcycle.

The ride was strangely calming, especially with the lack of the loud roar of a normal motorcycle. I had always liked horses, in fact, I had owned one for a little while when I was younger, and the neighing of the not-really-motorcycle was comforting. It was almost so peaceful that I was able to forget how much I dreaded meeting 'Nakura.'

When we arrived at the abandoned building, I thanked Celty, and told her that I wouldn't be long. She typed to me what to do—I already knew, but pretended I didn't—and, determined to get this over with as quickly as possible, I hopped up the stairs two at a time until I reached the top of the building. I stepped out onto the rooftop and looked around, knowing that Izaya was already up there, waiting for me.

He didn't immediately reveal himself, so I walked over to the edge of the rooftop and leaned on the railing, staring up at the stars. For a densely polluted place like Japan, especially in the city, the night sky was rather clear.

Then I made the terrible mistake of looking down, and like a slap to the face, fear filled me.

I remembered stepping off a building nowhere as tall as this one, remembered the concrete rushing towards me. It hadn't happened all that long ago, anyways, but apparently I had a fear of heights in the afterlife.

I was paralyzed at the sight of it.

"Magenta-san?"

I yelped at the sound of a smooth, velvety voice and immediately remembered I had an audience. Whirling around, I saw Orihara Izaya approaching me.

Surprisingly, he wasn't stalking like a predator, or really acting at all like the sub-human that he was. He wore the signature fur-lined black jacket, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He walked with a bit of a slouch, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

I swallowed, suddenly nervous. This _was_ the afterlife, but somehow, it didn't feel so much like one in that moment. The fear I felt at the sight of this megalomaniac was quite real to me, stunningly real.

In a moment of coherency, I realized that Kamichika Rio wouldn't be afraid of him like this. To Izaya, she was very much suicidal and wouldn't be afraid of a stranger—after all, she had gotten herself kidnapped and didn't even fight back. Only Celty knew that there was anything different about Rio, and she wasn't really in a position to know the difference. Izaya, 'Nakura', was.

"Hello, I'm Nakura," Izaya said, his tone of voice friendly.

"Are you _really_ Nakura-san?" I asked, not really having to try to make my voice sound suspicious. It wasn't acting on my part and it was probably what Rio would have sounded like. Then again, it had been a long time since I watched episode two.

"I'm the one who wants to disappear without a trace," he said, cocking his head to the side slightly and smiling.

I frowned. "Someone posed as you and kidnapped me," I said, sounding a little more accusing than was probably a good idea at this point. "That's pretty interesting, isn't it? Because I didn't think anybody else knew about our conversations. _I_ didn't tell anybody."

As far I knew, Rio actually hadn't, so that was safe to say.

Izaya was watching me with amusement. If he was at all suspicious in innocent little Rio's change in disposition, he wasn't showing it. "That _is_ interesting. Tell me, were you afraid? It must have been a very traumatizing incident."

"No, not really," I answered. Rio actually had been, just a little, but since I had her memories, it was pretty clear that she was so resigned she mostly hadn't cared and thought she deserved it since she wanted to disappear, after all. "I think I'm more angry, but that's beside the point." And I actually was angry, because Izaya really was a shithead. I forged on without letting him speak, certain that I didn't want to hear what he was going to say. "Can I go home now? I don't want to disappear anymore, so you can do it on your own."

He frowned, but the amusement in his eyes didn't fade. He was playing with me. "So I guess you really didn't want to disappear, if one little mishap is all it takes to make you want to live."

He was referring to _kidnapping_ as 'one little mishap'? I frowned more deeply, but decided that I would play along, if it would get me to go home faster. I needed to get away from him; I needed to sort out my thoughts. This afterlife business wasn't exactly what I had thought would happen when I died and I was already pretty sick of it. Why couldn't I have been spat out into Inuyasha, or One Piece, or even Naruto? Any of those would have been much better.

"I guess so." I spoke strongly and without wavering. When he didn't respond immediately, instead watching me with burning curiosity, I decided I was done. "It was nice meeting you, Izaya. I'm going home now."

I realized my mistake almost instantly. Rio didn't know who Orihara Izaya was, and she certainly didn't know that he was Nakura. And, even worse, if she _did_ know who he was, she certainly wouldn't refer to him by his given name without an honorific.

How very American of me, and how very stupid.

However, if there was any surprise at all, he masked it before I could see it. Deciding to pretend I hadn't made a terrible mistake, I went to walk past him.

He caught my right wrist in a vice-like grip and swung me in front of him. I was terrified for a moment. Izaya didn't look pissed, but he certainly did not look as friendly anymore, either.

"Have you been playing with me, Magenta-san?" he asked softly.

I stared at him for a moment, knowing that he probably had his signature knife on him, and then I came to a realization that really shouldn't have been so shocking.

This was the afterlife, and since all these characters were fictional, it was _my_ afterlife. I doubted I could die again— _I was already dead_ —and, since I was apparently stuck here, why not have some fun? What was the worst he could do when everything was…well, I would say in my head, but it really wasn't. Still, it certainly wasn't real.

"No more than you play with anyone else," I responded innocently. Rio had a _really_ good innocent-voice. "I like games, too."

His eyes glinted, but not with danger—with curiosity. Fascination.

"You're much less boring than I imagined you would be, Magenta-san," he said with some kind of deranged excitement, not releasing my wrist. I tugged it, but he wouldn't let go. However, I wasn't afraid anymore.

"And you're exactly how I thought you would be," I retorted, getting annoyed. If there was anyone I wanted to spend time with in the Durarara! universe, it would Celty, and if I was lucky enough, Shizuo. However, the characters' personalities so far seemed to be quite similar to canon, so I'd need to think carefully about how to approach the latter. Wouldn't want to trigger his famous anger.

Maybe I'd get him some organic milk straight from a farm? That might be a good start.

Izaya was staring at me with a look I couldn't quite decipher, but I wasn't really paying attention anymore. I was plotting just how I'd ingratiate myself with my favorite characters. Kida would probably be fun to hang out with, too.

It was then that I realized Izaya was talking. "-game?"

I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, but it sounded quite like he wanted to fuck with me some more.

"No, thanks. Seriously, can I go home now? Celty's waiting and I-" Hmm, I needed an excuse. Preferably a boring one. "-I have school tomorrow. With this whole 'I'm going to disappear' thing, I've gotten a bit behind on schoolwork, you see, and it would really be great if I could-"

Izaya finally released me and I stumbled, not realizing just how much of my weight he had been supporting. "Go on, then," he said, sighing as though this whole thing was a great burden. He shouldn't have been such a shithead if he didn't want to deal with boring people.

"Um, okay," I said, a little surprised at his mercurial moods. But I reckoned I wouldn't have to deal with him again, now that I had proved myself to be just like any other teenager. "Bye."

I quickly turned and hopped up the steps to the exit.

"I'll be in touch!" he called.

I scowled at his words and decided that I'd make up a really good excuse to my 'parents' to see if I could change my number.

I met with Celty outside the building.

'Did everything go okay?' she typed.

"Perfectly," I responded with a smile. "Thanks for waiting."

'No problem.'

On the ride home, I began to plot just how I was going to interact with the Durarara! characters. For the first time since I arrived in the afterlife, I felt something akin to excitement.

When Celty dropped me off at my house, I waved goodbye to her and then quickly made my way to my room. Both my parents were asleep—I suddenly realized that I was adopting Rio's life as my own, but then decided that I was dead and it didn't really matter—and I slipped into my room quietly. I showered and got ready for bed before flopping down on the double bed.

As I fell asleep, it never occurred to me that maybe, just _maybe_ , this wasn't the afterlife at all.

But who would guess at reincarnation into a sixteen-year-old girl's body?

* * *

 _So, that's that. Please review and if you want it continued, let me know in said review! I don't exactly have a minimum of how many requests it will take, but asking never hurts!_

 _Cheers!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone!_

 _So I decided to continue this fic. Thank you thank you THANK YOU to all who reviewed. You all are wonderful._

 _There is going to be a little detour while I set up the rest of the story. Some of you may not like it, but please understand that it is necessary to get the OC in the mindset I need her to be in to make this story happen the way I want it to. I personally didn't want to write this, but I think it's a good chapter anyways. I just didn't like the concept that I was using. Still, as I said, it is genuinely necessary. Chapter Three will be wrapping up this mini-arc and then Chapter Four should get us where we need to be to really start having fun._

 _Anyway, enjoy the story!_

* * *

 **Second Chance**

* * *

2

In Which Suddenly Everything Sucks

* * *

I was awoken the next morning to a call from an unfamiliar voice outside my door. It was gentle, but slightly annoyed, and I jerked out of bed, glancing at the clock.

What the hell? It was 6:45a.m., and there was no reason for me to be awake at this hour. And who on earth was waking me up? I knew I didn't have a doctor's appointment today—it was a Saturday, after all—and since I didn't attend school anymore, there was no reason I couldn't sleep in. In fact, I actually was supposed to rest as much as I could because I got tired easily, and collapsing due to muscle fatigue and injuring myself wasn't on my plan of things to experience in my last days.

Then I remembered. I had committed suicide and this was the afterlife. I was…I was dead. And I was Kamichika Rio. And I was in the Durarara! universe.

For a second, tears filled my eyes. What had seemed like not such a big deal last night was a very big deal to me now. I would never see my _real_ parents again, even if our time together had already been about to be cut short. I remembered that one of my last memories was to let my rest be peaceful.

Why couldn't my rest be peaceful? Why did I have to be stuck in this hellhole of an afterlife?

Strangely, I felt something that was eerily similar to comradery fill me, but the source was unknown. I brushed it off as residual exhaustion.

After a few moments the feminine voice came again, a little more annoyed and now slightly worried, and I finally sat up in bed. My body was smaller than I remembered, as I had been a rather tall girl in my old life. Rio was short and petite, although I hadn't had issues adjusting to the new body last night. I looked down and inspected myself briefly. I was also thinner with much less voluptuous features. Of course, as I had been cancer-ridden in my real life, I hadn't necessarily been very curvy anyways, but this was still an adjustment. My breasts were probably at best a B-cup and my curves were much gentler than I was used to. Not that I was going to be trying to win any beauty contests in the afterlife, but it would have been nice to have something similar to my old body.

I decided I would adjust, and then belatedly called out to 'my' mother that I was up. Why I had to be up on a Saturday I wasn't really sure, but maybe it was some kind of cultural difference in Japan.

I stood and looked around the room. It was a small room, much tinier than I was used to, and I wondered why the Japan-afterlife had to be so similar to the real world's Japan. On such a relatively small island, space was very much a hot commodity, but that was in the _real_ world. I wasn't sure why the afterlife couldn't be any different.

As I wandered about the small room, trying to find where everything was, I noticed the bulletin board next to the closet. I decided I would check it out after I inspected the closet, as even though this was the afterlife, I had decided that Izaya notwithstanding, I didn't want to rock the boat any more than I had to. I might as well make myself comfortable in this 'life,' and that meant causing no more trouble than I had to. Maybe if I pulled this off right, I would be sent to a better place to finally be at peace. It was not hard to admit that Ikebukuro wasn't exactly a place one would find a peaceful existence.

Again, there was that odd sensation of comradery. I resolutely ignored it.

I opened the closet door and peered inside. Canon-Rio had a different fashion of clothing than I was used to—whereas I usually wore a lot of black and neutral colors, there were many pastels and brightly-colored garments inside. In fact, everything except her uniform was ghastly in my opinion. Sure, I supposed she could pull it off, and perhaps even feel comfortable with it, but I certainly couldn't. I might not want to rock the boat too much, but this was a wardrobe I wouldn't abide by. For some reason, the thought left a slightly bitter taste on my tongue.

Determined to convince my mother—might as well adjust to Rio's mentality, even if it grated to acknowledge someone else as _my_ mother since she certainly wasn't; and I felt more satisfied by that thought than I should have—that I was going to need some money for clothes, I quickly formulated the excuse that I had had a growth spurt. That should work, even if there might not be a noticeable difference.

Satisfied with my plan to acquire more reasonable clothing—bitter taste again—I went to the bulletin board. On it was a calendar and it was apparently April. When I had died it was June, which led me to either assume that the calendar wasn't accurate or the timelines were off. However, there was no way for me to know.

Suddenly, I panicked. If I didn't want to rock the boat, I would have to at least be able to pass as Rio superficially, which meant knowing what the hell was going on in 'my' life. I needed to know who my friends were, what they were like, what classes I took, what I had learned in those classes, what time school started, what my general schedule was, remember important dates and appointments, and, and-

In the middle of my panicking, I felt a slight pressure in my head and then suddenly, memories began to flash over me. My friends were Chouzu Miharu, Kawani Suzuka, and my best friend of all of them was Rioppu Non. Their personalities came to me in a blur of memories: Miharu was sweet, quiet, and shy; Suzuka was a loud, rambunctious gossip, and Non was whimsical, a daydreamer, and notoriously stubborn when she wanted to be. She also had a boyfriend, Rokujo Chikage, who was very much a ladies' man, but nonetheless faithful despite his avid following of young women. I felt a surge of warmth at the recollection of them, even though they weren't actually my friends. Interesting.

The classes I was taking were standardized for the entire class. First period on A-days was homeroom, second was Pre-Calculus, and third was Chemistry. On B-days, I had first period Literature, second period English, and third period homeroom again. I also had a rush of information telling me what I was good at and what I wasn't. Rio was great at math—which called forth the thought _oh shit_ —okay at Chemistry, decent at Literature, and dismal at English. There was at least one of those things I could change—I had been an English major, so I could definitely improve her English course, and since I now understood Japanese fluently, I could take on Lit and probably do pretty well at it. Chemistry wouldn't be _too_ much of a problem, but Pre-Cal was probably going to ruin me. Hopefully, Rio's current A+ in the class would carry me to the end of the semester while I stumbled through the course. If I was able to pull on her memories, maybe I could utilize her previous understanding of math to keep me afloat.

That said, when new concepts were introduced, I'd probably bomb all of it.

Then I suddenly laughed, amused by the thought. Right afterwards, my brow furrowed in confusion. It wasn't _that_ funny.

All of my questions were answered in what I realized had only been a few moments, even though I had felt it was much longer. However, I now knew that today was a Tuesday and I had an English test. There was homework for Lit that Rio hadn't done, but she had memories of what the book was about that were pushed into my mind accompanied by slight pressure, so I would probably be able to bumble through that assignment if I worked quickly enough before class.

God damn, I had thought my high school days were behind me. This was horrible.

I felt amused again, but made a distinct effort not to laugh, and then afterwards, not to panic. Was I going insane in the afterlife?

Pushing the thought out of my mind, I quickly changed into my uniform, put on my shoes, packed my book bag with what was necessary for the day, and then hurried downstairs. The movements were quite natural, despite my unfamiliarity with them. My mother had made grilled salmon over omelet and rice, which I thought was quite strange for a breakfast meal, but chalked it up yet again to cultural difference.

"Morning, mom," I greeted with a small grin as I hurried into my room. Even if she wasn't my real mother, there was no reason to treat her badly.

"Morning, sweetie," she replied with bright smile in return. "What's made you so happy today?" She placed both our meals on the table and a brief sorting into Rio's memories told me that my dad had already left for work. He would also probably be back late after spending some time with his mistress, but while that would have bothered Rio, it didn't concern me. Yeah, it was pretty shitty, but he wasn't _my_ dad and it wasn't _my_ family and Rio's mom wasn't even concerned about it, so there was nothing I wanted to or could do. I felt inexplicably bitter at the thought.

"Nothing," I said, quickly scarfing down my meal. "But I forgot to do my Lit assignment, so I have to hurry to school to get it done."

My mother was looking at me with a happiness that seemed very out-of-place after her daughter had just admitted to have forgotten about schoolwork. She must have seen my inquisitive expression because she explained, "It's just nice to see you so vibrant, that's all."

I nodded, understanding implicitly. Rio must have been quite gloomy in the days immersed with Izaya's not-exactly-uplifting conversations and contemplations of suicide. I personally thought it was a little silly to think about suicide because her dad was cheating on her mom—I mean, come on, it was basically a poorly-thought out revenge scheme to get him to feel bad about his affair. One might say that I had no room to talk because I actually _had_ committed suicide, but the reasons were very different. Rio was doing it to get attention she wouldn't have even been around to receive, whereas I was taking back what little control I had over my life.

My stomach twisted violently and I almost choked on my food at the feeling of malevolence that filled me.

What the hell was going on?

Frowning at the unexplained feelings, I distractedly took another bite of food. Now that I had been given a 'second chance' of sorts, even if I was technically dead, I had no intentions of wasting this life, and that meant staying healthy. It was so nice to be able to eat without nausea, even if something strange was going on in Rio's body. Certain thoughts seemed to trigger emotional responses that weren't justified.

This body, with its lack of cancer and a feeling of liveliness I had forgotten after the past few years of terminal illness, would serve me well. I had a life again, however loosely the term was used, and I was going to take advantage of it.

My mother didn't seem phased by my lack of response, but when my fork clattered to the table a moment and I started choking on my food, she was immediately concerned and rushed to my side.

However, even as my lungs heaved, demanding air, and my throat convulsed desperately to remove the food lodged inside, I wasn't focusing on that.

 _This body_.

What had happened to Rio herself?

I finally swallowed the food properly, but my mother continued to hover, patting my back worriedly. "Are you okay, honey?" she asked, a clear hint of fear in her voice.

Nodding, I cleared my throat. "Just ate too fast." But I wasn't hungry anymore, not at all. The tears in my eyes could have been a reflex from choking, but I wasn't so sure about that. "I've got to, mom. Bye!" I abruptly left, grabbing my backpack after fleeing out the door.

I felt a little bad for scaring her and then running off like that, but I needed to think.

As I hurried towards Raira Academy, my thoughts would not leave Rio's fate. What had happened to her? Where was she now?

 _Rio, what happened to you?_ I asked no one desperately.

I didn't expect an answer, of course.

 _I hope you're resting peacefully now_. Because the only answer I had was that she had been forced from her mind and died. Maybe she had moved on to the next world?

And then I realized that I was thinking about this as though it was real, as though it was reality, and I quickly shook my head.

 _This_ is _reality,_ a voice suddenly said to me, the tone gloomy.

I stumbled in surprise and looked around to see who had spoken, answering a question I hadn't asked. But the crowds kept passing by and no one was looking at me.

There was a nudging at the corner of my consciousness and a slight pressure that threatened to give me a headache in my brain. It was similar to when the memories had assaulted me.

Call it intuition or call it instinct, but I suddenly realized what was going on.

 _Rio?_

 _Yeah,_ the voice said, still quite gloomily. _I'm still here…_

This was so bizarre that I couldn't even register what was going on, only that I had started walking numbly to school again.

 _Are you the one making me have all those strange reactions?_ I asked in a daze.

There was a huff that only I could hear. _You're pretty callous to anyone who isn't in your position,_ she said accusingly. _You have no idea what I was feeling before I met Nakura._

 _Izaya Orihara,_ I corrected automatically, still not thinking clearly. _He was pretending that whole time to fuck with you. You shouldn't have trusted a complete stranger like that. It was very naïve._

My stomach lurched and I gasped, barely managing to stop myself from vomiting.

 _You're such a bitch!_ Rio screamed in my head. A pounding headache assailed me and I clutched at my head. _He was so kind to me when no one else was!_

"Did you not see what happened last night?" I demanded.

I realized then that people were staring. One hand on my stomach, the other on my head, and I was talking out loud to nobody.

 _I thought they had killed me,_ Rio admitted, reverting to gloomy again. _I didn't even realize what had happened until I heard kaa-san's voice and couldn't control my body. The last thing I remember is being knocked out last night._

Oh. Then her anger at me was completely justified.

 _I'm sorry,_ I told her sincerely. _I would give you your body back if I could. I…don't really like this situation either._ It would take so long to tell her the whole story, and how did I explain to her that this was the afterlife? _I'm supposed to be dead._

There was an outside feeling of confusion that I was now aware wasn't myself but Rio's reaction. The headache had gone away, but I felt a bigger pressure inside me, and then I was reliving the past two and a half years of my life before I died, and the final image of the ground rushing up at me caused my stomach to lurch, this time of my own reaction.

Then I saw the interaction with Izaya and the correlation between my memories of Durarara! and what had happened the night previous. This was…surreal.

 _Oh, god,_ Rio said after the slideshow stopped. _This is…this is horrible. I can't believe…_ how?

Somehow, I knew that she was asking about the Izaya-Nakura conundrum and not about what had happened to me. _Izaya is a shithead. He 'loves humans.'_ I refrained from explaining further, as she had gone through my memory of episode two in great detail. Now she knew what I knew would happen and how I had changed the outcome of the ordeal. _I hated him so much that I couldn't finish the…_ I didn't want to say 'anime' because this was very much real to Rio.

That reminded me.

 _What did you mean that this is reality?_ I asked. The school was in sight now, I noticed. I didn't make an effort to quicken my pace, however.

 _This isn't the afterlife. I don't know what happened or how you're here, but…I have a conjecture._

 _Do tell,_ I requested politely.

 _Your last thought before you died was, "Give me another chance." Maybe this is the kami's way of giving you another chance…I just wish he'd given you your own body._

 _I'm really sorry,_ I said. _I'd change it if I could. If you want, I could try to leave?_

 _I already tried to take back control from you,_ she admitted, not sounding guilty in the slightest. I didn't blame her; I would have tried the exact same thing in her position. _It looks like I'm stuck as a guest in my own life._

I frowned and felt tears prick my eyes at how resigned she was. This was so unfair to everyone involved. Sure, I had wanted another chance at life, but not this. _Anything_ but this. I was taking someone else's life away from them.

Rio sighed. _It's okay,_ she said suddenly. _I…I really did want to die. And apparently, I almost died in your world, and it was only Celty-san who saved me at the last minute. This…this is almost like being dead. I guess it won't be so bad._

 _Don't talk like that! We'll find a way to get you back. I don't actually..._ And then I thought about it. I _did_ want to live again. I didn't want to die and disappear forever. At the same time, this wasn't fair to Rio, either. In the end, I was willing to die again if it meant Rio could have her body back. I couldn't begin to imagine how horrible this must be for her.

 _No, you do,_ she corrected, apparently hearing some of my thoughts. Her voice was cold, but not accusing. _But it's okay. I don't blame you. I just really don't want to watch someone else live my life. I'd rather be dead._

A thought then occurred to me as I was entering the school building. I was pretty early, having rushed most of the way until the end, and not many people were around. My feet automatically guided me to Rio's classroom. _Maybe you can't take control, but I can give it back?_

 _Maybe._ She didn't sound convinced.

I cut off the discussion and sat at my—I started feeling like I should call it 'ours' now—desk and pulled out the incomplete Lit assignment. Rio was silent as I worked, but memories of the book were pushed into my mind when necessary.

By the time I was finished, students were filing into the class. Names were given to me for the ones I didn't know, but I recognized Mikado, Anri, and Kida. Rio knew them peripherally, and I would have wanted to get to know them better in any other situation, but now I was more focused on giving Rio her body back.

The teacher entered the room last and after taking roll call, he came around and collected the assignment. I handed mine over silently and then took to staring out the window, ignoring what the teacher was saying.

Obviously, I was quite depressed about what was going on. This situation sucked even more than I would have ever thought possible.

 _Rio?_ I asked. _I think that maybe-_

 _Shh!_ Rio scolded. _If I'm going to live, I want to keep up with school. I can't let myself fall behind any more than I have already._

And then the idea occurred to me.

I started to pay attention as well and class passed more quickly during that time. When there was a break between Lit and English, I told Rio, _Maybe we can't change the situation, but we could make it better. Maybe…we can work together?_

 _Like teamwork?_ she asked, a bit skeptically. _I'm still not in control, so I don't see how that makes it any better. You might as well just do what you want._

 _I…_

This was going to be a lot harder than I had anticipated.

* * *

 _Some of you may not like this twist, but please stick around. I promise I'll make it worth your while!_

 _This was mostly Rio/OC interaction, but Shizuo will be making an appearance in Chapter Three, I promise. :) Maybe a little Izaya, too._

 _Please review!_

 _Cheers!_


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